Heretofore, the practice utilized to transfer the fluid from offshore fluid well installations to the tanker which is generally permanently secured to one mooring buoy positioned in the vicinity of offshore installations.
This system has many inherent disadvantages. For example, the securing of the tanker to the buoy is hazardous, particularly in hostile environment conditions, such as for example, in the condition of stormy weather, or in the condition that ice is drifted into the tanker or the water surrounding the tanker is frozen into ice.
In order to release the tanker moored with the buoy therefrom in heavy weather or in ice drift conditions to make the tanker safe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,121 discloses a mooring system in which a buoy can be connected to or disconnected from an arm attached to a tanker and being of conical shape and having a circumferentially extending groove for the engagement of a quick connecting coupling comprising releasable locking means carried by the arm, the buoy with its conical outer face fitting into a corresponding recess of the arm and being held up out of the water by the arm when coupled to the arm and floating on the water surface when uncoupled from the arm.